Ballast removing apparatus



March 1, 1949. THORNLEY BALLAsT REMOVING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 2, 1944 INVEN'FOR: Edwinm. 771cm Zey v ATTORNEYS March 1, 1949. E. M. THORNLEY BALLAST REHOVI NG APTPARA'I'US 2 Shee ts-Sheet 2 Filed May 2, 1944 INVEN TOR.

V Eawnmmml BY MM flrroeueys Patented Mar. 1, 1949 UNITED BALLAST REMOVING APPARATUS Edwin M. Thornley, Bloomington, 111.

Application May 2, 1944, Serial No. 533,806

Claims. (Cl. 37-404) In replacing rail in railroad track, it is often desirable to use the same ties and an adzing machine is commonly used for stripping from the old tie any irregularities left by the old rail and providing a flat surface for the tie plate which is now usually placed between the rail and the tie whether or not one had previously been used. Heretofore it has been the practice to remove the ballast manually from the vicinity in which the adzing blades will be operating. It is a very slow and tedious job to remove the ballast in this way. If it is not removed adequately, the adzing blades may strike a stone and not only cause injury of the blade but perhaps also throw the stone at high speed and possibly injure a workman or bystander.

According to the present invention, the slow and tedious manual removal of ballast and the danger of removing it inadequately are avoided by the provision of a, ballast removing machine. The machine is simple in both construction and operation. It runs and is nearly balanced on one rail and includes a motor driving a digging wheel which is spaced the right distance from the rail on which the machine is movable so that when the machine is rocked on the rail to press the wheel down against the ballast, the ballast will be removed at the right position for the adzing of the tie to receive the other rail. The digging wheel removes the ballast so quickly and easily that there is no tendency for an operator to stop the operation .too soon with danger of inadequate ballast removal. The digging wheel is designed to fit close beside the ties and is of a sulficient diameter to clean the ballast from along a sumcient length of the tie for safety without being moved longitudinally of the tie and without being pressed unreasonably deeply into the ballast.

Additional objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description and from the drawings, in which I Fig.1 is a perspective view of the apparatus chosen for illustration of the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, both views being drawn approximately to scale, but being perhaps somewhat diagrammatic as to details.

A preferred form of the invention has been chosen for illustration and description, in compliance with section 4888 of the Revised Statutes, but persons skilled in the art will readily perceive other means for accomplishing the same results, and the claims are, therefore, to be construed as broadly as possible, consistent with the prior It is believed that the general nature of the invention will be most readily apparent from Fig. 1 from, which it is seen that a motor ll drives a digging wheel l2, both of which are carried by carriage l3 which is movable along rail 14 and can be rocked thereon to lower the digging wheel l2 into the ballast adjacent a tie IE to dig the ballast therefrom at the vicinity of the position in which another rail of the track is to be laid. The digging wheel [2 is centered about 6| inches from a point on or above the centerline of rail I l. The digging wheel l2 throws the ballast against a shield I1 from which the ballast drops into a pilejust far enough away from the digging wheel l2 so that it will not rollback into the hole that is dug.

Carriage i3 is provided with handles l8 by which the carriage may be rocked and moved along the rail M for ease in rocking the carriage and so that the operator will be in a position to see exactly what the digging wheel i2 is doing the handles I9 are approximately in the position shown. In order that force applied to the handies l8 longitudinally of the rail M to move the carriage along the rail will move the carriage smoothly in spite of being applied at a substantial distance from the rail, the wheels are preferably spaced a substantial distance apart being carried by an underframe 2| on which the main frame 22 of the carriage is mounted. A spacing of the wheels of 45 inches has been found satisfactory. A brace 23 makes the structure more rigid than would otherwise be the case. The wheels iii are flanged on both sides of the rail, 1 inch flanges having been found satisfactory.

It is desirable to have the carriage it so 1111- balanced that the digging wheel l2 will tend to rise. To this end, the engine It is mounted with its center of gravity to the rear of rail It, that is,

.farther from wheel [2 than the distance from wheel l2 to a plane through wheels l9 and perpendicular to frame 22. A basket 24 is removably secured to the carriage l3 and adapted to carry scrap metal or other balancing weights to compensate for any inaccuracy in the positioning of motor I! or variation in the weight of fuel carried. It may be found that the basket 24 may be omitted as well as not if the motor is more carefully positioned and the fuel tanks centered. Conveniently the basket 24 may be supported by extensions resting on tubing 25 welded to frame 22, and extending slightly under truck 2|. The motor ll drives a pulley 26 which in turn drives a sprocket wheel 21, both the pulley 26 and the sprocket wheel 21 being fast on shaft 28 which is 3 suitably journalled to the carriage I 3. The sprocket wheel 2'! drives chain 29 which drives sprocket wheel 3i which in turn drives digging wheel l2, both being fast on shaft 32 which is journalled on carriage It. The motor H is of course provided with a suitable throttle and spark control means and with either a clutch or a belt tightening lever 33. In the illustrated form, the lever 33 slides the engine ll rearwardly on its mounting to tighten the engine pulley 34 against the belt to start the driving of the digging wheel II.

It is desirable for the operator to face in the direction 'in which the machine is to be moved and yet it is desirable not to have handles projecting where they are not being used. Accordingly, the handles it are slidable within tubes 31 so that they may project on either side of the machine, being retained in the desired position by pins 38. In like manner, it will be noted that tubes 39 are provided on the underframe or truck 2| and at the rear end of frame 22 into which handles may be inserted for lifting the apparatus from the rail. It is important to be able to remove the entire apparatus easily from the track for the passage of trains.

The lower part ll of the guard I1 is preferably flexible (desirably rubber) so that obstructions will not prevent pressing the digging wheel I! sufllciently deeply into the ballast to remove the ballast along a sufficient length of the tie ii to get it entirely clear in the vicinity of the adzing. However, the digging wheel I: is of large'enough diameter so that it does not have to be pressed excessively deeply or steeply into the ballast in order to clear a sufllcient length of the tie adjacent the top thereof. A wheel 24 inches in diameter including 2 inch lugs has been found satisfactory to prepare for an adzing machine having a 13 inch head. For a 17 inch cutting head the lugs or teeth are desirably 4 inches long and the wheel 27 inches in outside diameter. One consideration that seems important is that the teeth be approximately as long as the depth of digging at least along their sides, so the wheel may be moved laterally after being moved down. As to the size of the wheel it seems at present to be important to clear a long enough hole by the time the wheel has buried $4; of its circumference,

when the teeth on one side would be moving downwardly at about a 45 angle. A width of 4 inches has also been found satisfactory for wheel I2, although the width is probably not important since the digging wheel is pressed down adjacent one tie to the desired depth and then the carriage pushed along the rail until the digging wheel comes to the next tie, thus cleaning out a zone extending from one tie to the next.

An additional shield 43 is provided above the digging wheel as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1. This may generally be made of A; inch or thinner sheet iron welded to rods 44 which in turn are welded to braces 86.

The various journal boxes 48 may be of any desired form, having either journal type or antifriction bearings. Preferably each of these is provided with suitable oil supply means and if this comprises a tube such as the tube 49, it is preferred that a protective bar be provided as shown to protect the oil tube from damage.

Although a wide variety of digging wheels and tooth shapes can be used, the illustrated form has been found to be very satisfactory. As the teeth wear down, they can be renewed by welding. The heavy braced tooth construction illustrated'is preferred to a. simple unbraced construction for durability particularly in resisting deformation when a rock is struck which is relatively firmly positioned. As illustrated, the teeth comprise two legs which may be further braced by flanges M.

A speed of about 700 R. P. M. has been found to be satisfactory for digging wheel [2.

It is believed that details of construction not described are sufficiently clear from the drawings alone. Box 80 is for a battery for engine Ii.

From the foregoing, it is seen that a simple machine is provided which is highly satisfactory for removing ballast from adjacent a tie to be adzed, a machine which can easily be operated by one man. The machine enables one man followed by a man with a broom to perform very quickly and easily the ballast operation which has heretofore been very tedious and slow. In a given length of time the two men and the machine can do a better job than 12 to 15 men manually.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for removing ballast from adjacent a tie along the portion thereof to be adzed comprising a carriage, wheels supporting the carriage and adapted to run on a rail, a prime mover carried by the carriage, a digging wheel driven by the prime mover and carried by the carriage at a position spaced from said wheels at approximately the proper spacing for the rails of a track and projecting downwardly from the carriage so that it may be-pressed into the ballast adjacent the tie by rocking the carriage on the rail. and a guard alined with said wheel in the direction toward which it will throw the ballast and disposed to drop the ballast thrown from the wheel approximately at the ends of the ties, said wheel having projections thereon adapted to engage the ballast and throw it to the guard.

2. Apparatus for removing ballast'from adjacent a tie along the portion thereof to be adzed comprising a carriage, wheels supporting the carriage and adapted to run on a rail, a prime mover carried by the carriage, a digging wheel driven by the prime mover and carried by the carriage at a position spaced from the line of said wheels and projecting downwardly from the carriage so that it may be pressed into the ballast adjacent the tie by rocking the carriage on the rail, and a guard alined with said wheel in the direction toward which it will throw the ballast but a sufficient distance from the digging wheel so that the ballast thrown by the wheel will drop in a desired position and not roll back into the hole dug by the wheel, said wheel having projections thereon adapted to engage the ballast and throw it to the guard.

3. Apparatus for removing ballast from adjacent a tie along the portion thereof to be adzed comprising a carriage, wheels supporting the carriage and adapted to run on a rail, a prime mover carried by the carriage, a digging wheel driven by the prime mover and carried by the carriage at a position spaced from said wheels at approximately the proper spacing for the rails of a track and projecting downwardly from the carriage so that it may be pressed into the ballast adjacent'the tie by rocking the carriage on the rail, and a guard alined with said wheel in the direction toward which it will throw the ballast but a sufllcient distance from the digging wheel so that the ballast thrown by the wheel will drop in a desired position and not roll back into the hole dug by the wheel, said wheel having pr jections thereon adapted to engage the ballast and throw it to the guard and being of a sufficient diameter so that with approximately threefourths of the circumference above the ballast, it will clean the ballast from a sufficient length of the tie adjacent the top thereof for the adzing operation.

4. Apparatus for removing ballast from adjacent a tie along the portion thereof to be adzed comprising a carriage, wheels supporting the carriage and adapted torun on a rail, a prime mover carried by the carriage, a digging wheel driven by the prime mover and carried by the carriage at a position spaced from the line of said wheels and projecting downwardly from the carriage so that it may be pressed into the ballast adjacent the tie by rocking the carriage on the rail, and a guard alined with said wheel in the direction toward which it will throw the ballast but a sufficient distance from the digging wheel so that the ballast thrown by the wheel will drop in a desired position and not roll back into the hole dug by the wheel, said wheel having projections thereon adapted to engage the ballast and throw it to the guard; said carriage being so unbalanced that it normally rocks in a direction to raise the digging wheel.

5. Apparatus for removing ballast from adjacent a tie along the portion thereof to be adzed comprising a carriage, wheels supporting the carriage and adapted to run on a rail, a prime mover carried by the carriage, a digging wheel driven by the prime mover and carried by the carriage at a position spaced from said wheels at approximately the proper spacing for the rails of a traclr and projecting downwardly from the carriage so that it may be pressed into the ballast adjacent the tie by rocking the carriage on the rail, a guard alined with said wheel in the direction toward which it will throw the ballast but a suilficient distance from the digging wheel so that the ballast thrown by the wheel will drop in a desired position and not roll back into the hole dug by the wheel, said wheel having projections thereon adapted to engage the ballast and throw it to the guard, and means for counterbaiancing the carriage to normally rock it toward a position in which the digging wheel is raised.

6. Apparatus for removing ballast from adjacent a tie along the portion thereof to be adzed comprising a carriage, wheels supporting the carriage and adapted to run on a rail, a prime mover carried by the carriage, a digging wheel driven by the prime mover and carried by the carriage at a position spaced from the line of said wheels and projecting downwardly from the carriage so that it may be pressed into the ballast adjacent the tie by rocking the carriage on the rail, a guard alined with said wheel in the direction toward which it will throw the ballast but a sufficient distance from the digging wheel so that the ballast thrown by the wheel will drop in a desired position and not roll back into the hole dug by the wheel, said wheel having projections thereon adapted to engage the ballast and throw it to the guard, and handle means adjacent the digging wheel including a hollow member mounted on the carriage and a bar insertable in said member to project in either direction transversely of the carriage and longitudinally of the rail so that the operator may stand on either side of the carriage depending on which way he desires to move the carriage. v

'7. Apparatus for removing ballast from adjacent a tie along the portion thereof to be adzed comprising a carriage, wheels supporting the carriage and adapted to run on a rail, a prime mover carried by the carriage, a digging wheel driven by the prime mover and carried by the carriage at a position spaced from the line of said wheels and projecting downwardly from the carriage so thatit may be pressed into the ballast adjacent the tie by rocking the carriage on the rail, a guard alined with said wheel in the direction toward which it will throw the ballast but a sufli-cient distance from the diggin wheel so that the ballast thrown by the wheel will drop in a desired position and not roll back into the hole dug by the wheel, said wheel having projections thereon adapted to engage the ballast and throw it to the guard, and handle means adjacent the digging wheel; said running wheels being flanged on both sides of the rail and being widely spaced along the rail whereby movement of the carriage by force applied adjacent to the digging wheel will move the carriage smoothly along the rail.

8. Apparatus for digging ballast comprising a rockable carriage, a prime mover carried by the carriage, and digging means driven by the prime mover including a wheel carried by the carriage and rotatable about an axis generally horizontal, and spaced, sturdy, rock-digging teeth with complete clearance therebetween moving around the axis of the wheel and supported by said wheel, having faces, of substantial extent radially beyond any tooth connecting means, facing in the direction of their motion and following a path of movement adapted to extend into and out from the ballast bed between the ties of a railroad track, said digging means being so constructed and rockable with the carriage as to be adapted while in operatin condition to move down into ballast in the space between ties, clean the ballast from adjacent one tie, and then by movement of the carriage transversely of the ties move through the ballast, digging the ballast away as the movement continues, to another position adjacent the next tie, and clean the ballast from adjacent the next tie; said teeth being exposed for digging from each side far enoughbeyond any portion of the wheel therebetween to enable the wheel to dig its way axially through ballast in either direction.

9. Apparatus for digging ballast comprising a rockable carriage, a prime mover carried by the carriage, and digging means driven by the prime mover including a wheel carried by the carriage and rotatable about an axis generally horizontal, and spaced, sturdy, rock-digging teeth moving around the axis of the wheel and supported by said wheel, havin faces, of substantial extent radially beyond any tooth connecting means, facing in the direction of their motion and following a path of movement adapted to extend into and out from the ballast bed between the ties of a railroad track, said digging means being so constructed and rockable with the carriage as to be adapted while in operatin condition to move down into ballast in the space between ties, clean the ballast from adjacent one tie, and then by movement of the carriage transversely of the ties move through the ballast, digging the ballast away as the movement continues, to another position adjacent the next tie, and clean the ballast from adjacent the next tie; said teeth each having a forwardly directed digging face exposed all along the bottom thereof and upwardly along each side at least two inches to enable the wheel to dig its way axially through ballast in either direction.

7 t 10. Apparatus for digging ballast comprising a rockable carriage, wheels supporting the carriage and adapted to run on a rail, a prime mover carried by the carriage, and digging means drivenby the prime mover including a wheel carried by the carriage and rotatable about an axis generally horizontal and parallel to the rail line, and spaced, sturdy, rock-digging teeth moving around the axis of the wheel and supported by said wheel, having faces, of substantial extent radially beyond any tooth connecting means, facing in the direction of their motion and following a path of movement adapted to extend into and out from the ballast bed between the ties of a railroad track, said digging means being so constructed and rockable with the carriage as to be adapted while in operating condition to move down into ballast in the space between ties, clean the ballast from adjacent one tie, and then by movement of the carriage transversely of the ties move through the ballast, digging the ballast away as the movement continues, to another position adjacent the next tie, and clean the ballast from adjacent the next tie; said teeth each having a forwardly directed digging face exposed all along the bottom thereof and upwardly along each side 8 at least two inches to enable the wheel to dig its way axially through ballast in either direction, each tooth being as wide adjacent the bottom as the maximum width of the tooth at any point not over two inches thereabove, and said carrlage being suitably balanced and carrying suitable handles for being pushed along the track and rocked by one'man.

EDWIN M. THORNIEY.

REFERENCES (JITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date- 1,252,56 Geisler Jan. 8, 1918 1,762,441 Johnson June 10, 1930 1,820,636 Talboys Aug. 25, 1931 2,207,85a Foreman et al July 16, 1940 2,254,742 Humphrey Sept. 2, 1941 2,336,652 Talboys Dec. 14, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date Great Britain Dec. 24, 1885 

